Monday, August 11, 2008

Going Home

I'm going home, back to the place where I belong
Where your love has always been enough for me.
Not running from, no I think you've got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life just for me.
These places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home!

The miles are getting longer it seems, the closer I get to you :-)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! I'm coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy :-) You have no idea :-P

We leave the hotel in an hour and a half to go to the airport. It is going to be a long day but not much could rain on my parade right now :-)

Oh....and watching the Olympics always inspires me. Did y'all see the men's 4x100 swimming relay????? AH-mazing!!!!! Kind of makes you proud to be an American :-P

Miss you
Miss you
Miss you
But not for long <3

I'm almost home :-)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

With tired eyes, minds, souls, we slept...

Day 6!!!!!! Only 1 more day until I can kiss the Colorado soil!!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy, I can't even tell you :-)

We decided to relax today so I just got in from the pool. We've also watched a lot of Olympics (go team USA!) and A Knight's Tale. One line from the latter movie struck a chord, "I'm a flower without sunshine." It isn't just that I WANT to be home...I NEED to be home. Y'all are vital to my life. So, if any of you didn't know - you are awesome and I hate my life without you :-) Yeah, feel crazy-special :-)

I'm hoping I get to write tomorrow morning but I'm not sure if I'll get the chance before we leave. Pray for safe and quick flights.

We're down to hours....
Minutes...
Seconds...

I'm almost home :-)

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Broadway's Dark Tonight

Today was HARD. Really, really, really HARD. We went to Williamsburg but Carmen didn't want any part of it. I was excited to be there but from the second we woke up, Carmen was giving me her version of extreme teenage attitude :-P I surprised myself with the amount of patience and understanding I had today, which is good, but I am exhausted.
Williamsburg was beautiful but it was kind of hard to enjoy because all Carmen wanted to do was go back to the hotel. Finally, we set on the shuttle back and then (and ONLY then) did she give me this huge grin. "I won." Grrrrreat :-P I seriously think I should be on that reality show that is playing now (the one where they make dating teenage couples deal with children at all ages). I would ROCK :-) Anyway, we're going to have a quiet evening and the schedule is still uncertain for tomorrow. We'll probably see how the morning goes and that will dictate how much more touring we do.
TWO DAYS!!!!!! I can almost taste the Colorado air!!!!!! I can't even tell you how happy I am. The very thought of home brings a smile to my face :-)

MISS YOU
MISS YOU
MISS YOU
Hugs to all of my readers <3

Friday, August 8, 2008

Wandering Nomad

Day 4 - 3 to go....

Today we went to Jamestown. I had every intention of seeing both Yorktown AND Jamestown today but I think my expectations were a little lofty. The bus system and I are officially friends and I feel proud of myself each time I master the route to a new destination. Here are a few things I have learned this trip that might help those of you who are traveling in the future:
1. Always, always, always carry hand sanitizer.
2. Always, always, always USE the hand sanitizer.
3. "Never eat newts at a restaraunt" (courtesy of Carmen...she's been saying it all day)
4. Colonial people were very short. If you try to stand up in a replica of one of their ships, you WILL hit your head.
5. When you see signs on ramps that say "Watch your step", they really mean it. If you don't watch your step you will take a nose dive. Yep, this happened today...I could hear Doug's voice in my head saying "No large motor functions". Yeah....
6. Theme parks have no remorse when they charge you $3.00 for a bottle of water. In fact, they look disgustingly happy about it.
7. The beds at Crowne Plaza are amazingly comfortable. If you don't set your alarm, you will sleep for 10 hours straight.
Those are the only pearls of wisdom I have so far. More to come?
So, today was fun and last night was really relaxing. Carmen insisted we turn the lights off at 9:30 so I just listened to worship music on my iPod and prayed for a looooong time. It is so nice to talk to God, FYI. He is amazing :-)
I feel really good today and I think it is because I have hit the down slope. Only three more days!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am to get back - I MISS YOU ALL!!!!!!
Hugs
Hugs
Hugs

PERSONAL NOTES:

I miss your smile and your voice and...EVERYTHING about you. Hang in there, we'll make it okay <3 You know who you are :-)

Familia - please make sure the boys are okay. Kiss Petey and make him go to sleep...NOT in my bed :-) If I could send you a giant, squishy hugs, I SO would.

Taj-ish....you+me??? Mucho love-o, bestie :-)

Lauren - I get home on Monday night. Call me. NOW. :-)


Tonight I'm watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Y'all should follow suit :-)
Night

Thursday, August 7, 2008

What hurts the most...

So, I have to make this brief. Or try to, anyway... The internet in my room officially conked out so I'm reduced to the lobby computer with 12-year olds looking over my shoulder. "Are you almost done?"

Anyway, we went to Busch Gardens today and it WAS like a mini-Disney World. Like Epcot :-) We had fun and rode a ton of rides. I couldn't have ordered better weather - it was bright but overcast most of the day which took the edge off the heat. Huzzah. I'm also becoming an expert at the public transportation system...I'm feeling strangely independent, which is weird for me.

I think Carmen is having a good time. It is hard to tell most of the time but today I actually got a smile :-) She wears out easily so our days are never very long. She has offically stolen my iPod. I'll have to tell her parents to get her one - she just loves it! I don't mind sharing, particularly if it gives her that much joy. I think we're connecting :-)

In sad news, it has been incredibly difficult being alone and having very little adult conversation during the day. I never realized how vocal I was until you take the people element away (Carmen doesn't like to talk much...I think it overwhelms her) but I AM! I don't think I have ever been more homesick in my life - normally I have at least some familiar things with me but here I feel completely alone. I cried when I talked to my mom on the phone - it felt so good to hear a friendly, loving voice. I miss people so much it actually hurts. Real pain. This is harder than I thought it would be.

The good news is that God is really stretching me. He and I have been having a lot of great conversations. "Hey, God, it's me. I need somebody to talk to. I need You!" He is amazing - maybe this trip was good for, if nothing else, getting me away to the point where I CAN'T talk to anyone else but Him. This week He has truly been EVERYTHING I need. That's pretty amazing. So, I'm learning a lot about myself this week and God has been showing me some pretty great stuff.

That's what I'll leave you with. Pray for me. Pray I make it through this week. Most importantly, pray I come out stronger.

Missing you
Missing you
Missing you
<3 Loves you all :-)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Day 2, Part 2

"I ain't missing you at all (missing you),
Since you've been gone away (missing you).
There's a message in the wire
And I'm sending you a signal tonight..."

I just talked to my mom and she wanted to know if I mentioned her in my blog...that gave me the idea to mention all the fantastic people I miss. This way, I can think about you and you'll feel better too :-)

My Daddy
Mother :-)
Brittany
Haley
Becca
Doug
Tajshen
Lauren
The Campbells
The Thayers
The Kochans
Church
The Crossing
My wonderful bed (although the one here is REALLY comfy)
Petey-baby
Bruce and Clark
Susan, Riki, Patty, Julie (my lovely work ladies :-)
The mountains
PHONE CALLS FROM YOU!!!!!

Hugs.
Sweet Dreams.
<3

Eh...

Day 2
I discovered in posting last night's blog that my internet here is spotty at best. I'll have it for 5 minutes....lose it for 3 minutes...have it for 10 minutes...lose it again.... You get the idea - it makes for fun blogging. "DARN IT!!! Lost it again!"

This morning was rough; Carmen melted and started crying. As I tried to put the pieces back together, I finally figured out that she missed her parents and she missed home. It hit me like a chord - we are exactly the same on the inside. I realized that I wanted to cry because I missed home too but that wouldn't have helped the situation at all. So my tears were internal.

Finally, we decided to have a quiet day and not do much; yesterday was SOOOOO long. It felt nice to relax and not have anything we HAD to do. We spent about 2 1/2 hours by the pool this morning enjoying the sweltering heat (I heard 94 degrees). This afternoon we just vegged and watched Superman Returns. Carmen kept telling me that Superman isn't as good as Spiderman and I had to laugh. I agree Brandon Routh doesn't hold the same appeal he has in the past...then again, there are other Supermen to take into consideration :-)

The plan for tomorrow is Busch Gardens. Pretty thrilling - people here keep saying it is a mini-Disney World. I'll try to keep my stomach in tact long enough to write tomorrow...Oh, the stories I will have :-)

Night!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Get ready, get set, don't go...

Last night after I logged off my blog, I set to packing. I've decided that I'm an amazing packer and I owe it entirely to my Grandmom. She taught me to roll and stuff so I can now get an incredible amount of stuff into a very small space. I think I'll add that to my resume...

I hate saying "goodbye" even if it is only for a short time. I hate it. I was pretty mopey when I woke up this morning and when I came down to the kitchen, Carmen was playing "The Dying Swan" from Swan Lake on the cd player. I thought it was morbidly appropriate for my mood.

On the shuttle bus ride to Denver, things began to perk up and I resolved to make an effort to make the most of this adventure. Both of our flights were very smooth and I have had NO PROBLEMS so far with anything. Hopefully this continues on for the next six days :-P Actually, the best part of the whole day was the flight from Atlanta to NewPort News. The sun was setting and I got a prime look at it from my place in the sky. I was listening to "Realize" on my iPod and the whole mood was part melancholy, part dramatic, and part renewal. God is an amazing God to put things like that together.

So, here I sit in the hotel room, basking in the glorious coolness that contrasts with the 86 degree weather outside (yes, folks, at 9:30 at night!!!). Tomorrow I am sleeping, sleeping, sleeping and we'll probably just relax here at the hotel. Tenative plans for Busch Gardens on Thursday. WHOOP! I think I wrenched my back on the insanely comfortable airplane seats...go figure. I'm praying it will sleep off so I'm not crippled tomorrow :-P

Hugs, everyone. I miss you already :-(
6 days to return.
6 days to enjoy.
But 6 days to count down every minute.

Loves <3

Monday, August 4, 2008

The sun will come out tomorrow?

So, I have had several blogs before and, ultimately, I forget about them or lose my password. Great job, Austen girl :-P I can't promise this one will be different but I can certainly try.

Now, the reason I am starting a blog today is that I'm jet-setting to Virginia for a week tomorrow and I want to let everyone know what's going on. It is only a week and if I had thought about it, I might have started earlier this summer when I was in Washington D.C. for two and a half weeks and Durango for a week. Whatever...I'm starting now.


I'm in the middle of packing and I feel a bit melancholy as I write. Although I've enjoyed all of my travels this summer, I've discovered that I'm definitely a homebody. I like my schedule, I like my roots, and I like knowing. I think I cried three different times today for random reasons. First, I cried twice at work whenever I thought about going a week without seeing my family, my rats, Tajshen, Doug, and my bed (not in that particular order). Then, I went to lunch with my dad and we had a fantastic talk (in case you didn't know, my dad is the GREATEST!!!). I thought I was fine, came back to the house and lounged on the couch listening to my iPod. Strangely enough, "My Heart Will Go On" came on from "shuffle" mode and I started to cry again. No clue why! I expect I will probably cry later tonight, much as I try to shut the waterworks valve off. The emotions still flow...

On the bright side, I think I will have a good time. Really. It rains all the time in VA, which makes me smile, and I'm going to Busch Gardens for the first time. The heat and humidity might kill me but the hotel has AIR CONDITIONING!!!!! Sweetness! I really hate airports and flying so once my feet hit the Virginia soil, I'll feel a whole lot better.

Until then, everybody. I'm going to miss you like crazy.

Ooops, don't start the tears again...